RACING UNDER SAIL
Pacific Gem
L
ooking at the photos of previous Tahiti Pearl Regattas, I thought there was no way this place could be real, that it was the visual equivalent of “Fake News.” It’s just not possible for anywhere to have water that clear, skies that blue, settings so bucolic and evocative that they’re on every computer in the world as a screensaver to annoyingly remind you that you’re at your desk and not there. Yet when you do get to Tahiti, you see this it’s exactly as it’s depicted. The people are attractive, friendly and kind, the scenery is stunning, the temperatures in the Austral autumn remain unvaried in the low 80s, and you quickly feel your internal turbines winding down to a low hum. It’s no wonder those first AU G U ST 2 0 1 9
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European and later American visitors in the 18th and 19th centuries jumped ship. Each year, three of four islands in the Society Islands group play host to the Tahiti Pearl Regatta: Raiatea, Taha’a, Huahine and Bora Bora. Being of extinct volcanic origin, all feature a steep central mountain turned green with foliage, deep narrow valleys, coastal fields and an encircling barrier reef with a navigable lagoon and occasional outer palm-covered islets called “motus.” These latter features are what serve as the venues for an event that is essentially a travelling menagerie of participating sailboats, sailing canoes of local design, race committee and support boats. In this year’s regatta, some 50-plus boats
were grouped into divisions of monohulls, multihulls, sailing canoes and cruisers. The latter were those boats that chose not to participate in the daily “banana” course race in the host island’s lagoon, but only on the following “rally” races to the next island, usually about 20 miles away. This year, after starting in Raiatea, that first island was Huahine, where a dying breeze nudged the race committee to set up a finish line just outside the pass through the reef. Everyone then anchored in the lagoon, went for a swim, jumped in dinghies and went ashore for that evening’s Polynesian-themed party of traditional food, drink, live music and dance performances, and a raucous party with a Pareo theme.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TOR JOHNSON
If you want the perfect blend of racing and cruising, check out the Tahiti Pearl Regatta, says Dobbs Davis
The spectacular backdrop makes the Tahiti Pearl Regatta an unforgetable event
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RACING UNDER SAIL After a night anchored in the quiet lagoon under the stars, lulled to sleep by the rumble of the surf crashing on the outer reef, fresh baguettes were delivered at dawn by dinghy throughout the fleet (this is France after all!) and the day started with another banana race followed by a rally race to the next island, Taha’a. With some clouds and a very light version of the northeasterly Boats of all trades, the race committee kinds race together decided to lead the fleet towards the finish in the pass at Taha’a until enough wind appeared to start the rally race. After its finish and a lunch break, an afternoon race was held in the Taha’a lagoon before that evening’s shore party, this one with a pig roast and an underwater theme. The regatta finished with a spectacular sailing day; the clouds had parted, the tradewinds returned in full strength, and after a two-lap banana course the entire fleet raced around the island of Taha’a in a picturesque parade of sail. Each point cleared in the clockwise rotation of the island brought with it stunning new views that it’s safe to say are unrivalled in the sailing world. While most of the participants were local, with visiting cruisers and charter boats mixed in, this 16th edition of the Pearl saw plenty of international interest and enthusiasm. Rupert Wilson’s Rumpus, for example, came up from New Zealand to have fun, and Gorm Gondesen’s beautiful green custom 53ft Nica, built at Knierim in Germany, was easily the fastest monohull in the fleet. And next year’s running of the Transpac Tahiti Race, a 3,571-mile marathon from Los Angeles, may bring even more awareness to those from around the world on just how gorgeous this setting is for all sailing, racing and cruising alike, and where both are done in perfect form. s
Ausome Tackles the Fastnet
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ritain’s Rolex Fastnet race is an ambitious notch in any sailor’s belt, so when Lottie Harland decided to put together a team of nine autistic sailors, it was a major undertaking. Harland is the founder of Ausome, a charity that uses sailing to promote personal and social growth in people on the autism spectrum. After difficulties connecting with her peers as a child, sailing taught Harland confidence, independence and social skills. “I want to give other people that experience,” she says, pointing out that traditional sailing courses are inaccessible to many people on the spectrum, especially for non-verbal sailors trying to communicate onboard. “Ausome was founded to bridge this gap in services for those autistic people looking to experience sailing for the first time or to further their skills.” Harland, a Royal YachtingAssociation (RYA) Offshore Yachtmaster, will be skippering AusomeLyra of London, a Swan 431. The crew is made up of sailors of varying experience, aiming to give opportunities to a diverse group of people. Team member Seth Kneller
says, “I wanted to sail for a long time, but never had the opportunities to learn. My autism makes it difficult to make the social connections that would help most people to get involved in the sport.” For Kneller’s crewmate, Jack Britton, it’s also about having something to prove. “I want to try all my abilities to show people what I’m made of,” he says.
Lottie Harland at the helm during a sail with Ausome
Harland hopes the experience will be impactful beyond the race itself, improving confidence when learning new skills, being a part of a team, making new friends and increasing self-reliance. The biennial race begins off Cowes, England, August 3. This year organizers expect over 300 boats and 3,000 sailors on the starting line. To learn more about Ausome and their Fastnet Campaign, visit ausome.org.uk. s
AROUND THE WORLD, QUICKLY The recently announced Globe 40 will give Corinthian skippers a chance to compete against professionals in a full-on round-the-world race. Starting in 2021, the GLOBE40 will be raced by doublehanded crews sailing Class 40 boats. Starting in France, the route features stopovers in Mauritius, Auckland, New Zealand, Tahiti, Ushaia in Argentina, Recife in Brazil, and Grenada. The organizers expect a strong entry; more than 50 Class 40s competed in last year’s Route du Rhum transat-
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lantic race. More information at globe40.com AROUND THE WORLD, SLOWLY Meanwhile, the next Golden Globe solo, nonstop round-the-world race is open for entries. There will be two classes in the 2022 event; the Suhaili class will see similar boats to those that competed in the 2018-19 race, while a new one-design class based on Bernard Moitessier’s famous Joshua—which he raced in the original Golden Globe race—has been added. At time of writing, there were already 16 entries in the epic race, which
starts from Les Sables d’Olonne in France on August 6, 2022. The 2018 event was won by Jean Luc van den Heede in 295 days. More details at goldenglobe.com THE LONG GOODBYE A high-octane multihull event has succumbed to the pressures of financial issues and waning interest. The Extreme Sailing Series, which started in 2007, was the first successful stadium-style event that combined short races held close to shore with shoreside viewing and activities. Despite going to foiling GC32 cats three years ago, the
series failed to maintain the level of support needed for its survival over eight international events and organizer OC Sport cancelled it this year. There’s also a question mark over the Superfoiler Grand Prix, another stadium-style series held in Australia. The ultra-powerful trimarans built for the series proved so difficult to handle, and the crashes so spectacular, that after the 2018 series they were quietly laid up. With Larry Ellison’s SailGP Series looking like a hit, so far this year there’s been no indication that Superfoiler racing will be resumed.
PHOTO COURTESY OF AUSOME
SHORT TACKS